HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Handicappers have their work cut out for them in the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel on Saturday at Oaklawn Park. And so do the horses in the field of 11. “It’s a deep group of 3-year-olds,” said trainer Brad Cox, who entered Verifying and Giant Mischief. “It’s probably one of the best preps we’ve had this year, top to bottom.” Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who will saddle Bourbon Bash, said much the same about the 1 1/16-mile race that will award Kentucky Derby points to the first five finishers on a scale of 50-20-15-10-5. “It’s tough as heck,” said Lukas. And if the merits of horses are not enough to debate, throw into the mix an 80 percent chance of some rain. “I would rather it be a fast track when we’re trying to evaluate going forward,” said trainer Steve Asmussen, who sends out Red Route One, Gun Pilot, and Powerful. “I think for the Derby preps, you would like to encounter as few variables as possible, because of how important it is to make the proper assessment.” The Rebel is being showcased on a 12-race card that includes the Grade 3, $300,000 Honeybee, which is a points race for the Kentucky Oaks, and the $150,000 Carousel. First post is noon Central. :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  A wet track would be a first for Reincarnate, who ships in from Santa Anita off a win in the Grade 3 Sham. “My sense is it won’t bother him at all,” said Tom Ryan, managing partner for co-owner SF Racing. “He’s a big, strong colt with a great demeanor.” Ryan added that Reincarnate’s sire, Good Magic, ran second in the slop in the Kentucky Derby won by eventual Triple Crown winner Justify. Verifying is by Justify. The runner-up in last year’s Grade 1 Champagne, he’s made one start this year, winning a first-level allowance at Oaklawn over next-out winners Gun Pilot and Two Eagles River. The time of the race was a tad quicker than a stakes for older horses on the same Jan. 14 card. Verifying is ranked highest among the five Rebel entrants who are members of Daily Racing Form’s Derby Watch. “He’s a really classy horse,” said Cox, who has won six points races for this year’s Kentucky Derby. “Obviously, he’s got a big pedigree being by Justify and a half to Midnight Bisou. She had some success at Oaklawn, winning the Apple Blossom, and he obviously has a win over the track as well.” Florent Geroux has the mount from the rail Saturday. “If he breaks good, he can be forwardly placed, not very far off the lead, especially with the good post like this,” Geroux said. “And after that, we’ll just play it by ear. At least I have a good inside post. I think it’s important, especially going a mile and a sixteenth. We won’t have [to make a ]big run coming into the first turn, so I’ll take the rail rather than the outside.” Derby Watch member Giant Mischief will be looking for a better start than he had in his last race, the Springboard Mile on Dec. 17 at Remington Park. He spotted the field a number of lengths out of the gate and was a fast-closing second. It was his first race at two turns. “It was hard to overcome that start,” Cox said. “He started his run up the backside, was carried wide, and down the lane kept coming. I thought he ran a winning race. He showed his ability to go two turns.” Cox said from there, plans were made to target the Rebel. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount from post 5. Derby Watch member Reincarnate won the Sham on the front end. He dueled and prevailed by a neck over Newgate, who returned to win the Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita. Reincarnate on Saturday will break from post 6 under John Velazquez. Formerly trained by Bob Baffert, he will be making his first start for Tim Yakteen. “His effort in the Sham was gritty,” said SF Racing’s Ryan. “He broke clean and carried his speed through solid fractions. That was a classy performance.” Derby Watch member Red Route One closed from next to last for second in the Southwest, which was run in the slop Jan. 28 at Oaklawn. Arabian Knight wired the Southwest field to establish himself as the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby. “I thought he did all he could do from the way the race played,” said Asmussen. Red Route One was Grade 1-placed last year. The Southwest was his first start at 3. “He has grown and put on a lot of weight from his 2-year-old year,” Asmussen said. “He will not be intimidated physically in the race. He’s gotten big and strong.” Cristian Torres has the mount from post 3. Derby Watch member Gun Pilot is coming off a two-length win in an Oaklawn allowance at a mile Feb. 4. Ricardo Santana Jr. was aboard and again has the mount from post 4. “I liked how well he settled and came home,” said Asmussen. Gun Pilot was a debut winner at the close of the Churchill Downs meet in November. A few days later, the stable area was locked down due to five horses on the grounds testing positive for equine herpesvirus. Gun Pilot started his 3-year-old season with a runner-up finish to Verifying at Oaklawn. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures “He had every reason in the world to need the race,” Asmussen said. “He got stuck in quarantine the month after the meet at Churchill. I think that curtailed his development – how tired he got the first time he ran out of [quarantine].” Powerful won the Ed Brown at Churchill on the same card in which Gun Pilot won his maiden Nov. 26. “He’s another one who was stuck in quarantine,” said Asmussen. Powerful is making his first start at 3. Last year, he won his maiden at Saratoga. Bourbon Bash is making a rare two-turn start. Earlier in the meet, he was third in the six-furlong Renaissance Stakes won by Rebel entrant Frosted Departure. “I wanted to give him another opportunity to stretch out,” Lukas said. “He’s got brilliant speed. I know if I drop him back to a sprint race, he will do very, very well. I just want to give him one more chance.” Confidence Game enters off a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds. One start prior, he won a Churchill allowance over eventual Holy Bull winner Rocket Can. Confidence Game is out of a half-sister to Horse of the Year Zenyatta. The field is completed by last-out maiden winners Talladega and Event Detail. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.